Healing Vengeance
by The Kimnapper
Summary: One Shots that deal with angsty/fluffy Anders x FemHawke. Marked as complete because any chapters 3 will be standalone. Rated for language and mild sexuality
1. Chapter 1

Dragon Age II

"This is the rule I will most cherish breaking." Anders said softly before leaning in to kiss Hawke. This kiss was sweet, not a burst of passion and lust like the last one. He gently put a hand on her cheek, the other one on her waist.

Hawke bit his lip gently before pulling away and leading him to the bed. She bent one of her legs as she laid back, Anders kneeling over her. He put one leg between hers and then leaned onto his side, not done kissing and holding her yet. He moved a hand to her side, slipping it into her robes and she jerked up, a giggle escaping as she kneed him.

He groaned while rolling his eyes and moved off her to lie on his back, his hands holding the aching spot. "Oh shit," Hawke sat up and knelt by his side. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm just… I'm very ticklish. I should've told you before. Are you okay? Please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, I'm just in pain. I won't do that again." He chuckled pathetically.

"This isn't a very romantic start." Hawke kissed him on his forehead. "You don't… I mean, you don't need healing right? I got you pretty hard." Anders chuckled at what she said and traced her face again.

"You're good at understatements. I'll be fine. I just… didn't expect to have to cast rock armor to get into your bed, Hawke." They both chuckled.

"I thought you were already hard." She ran a hand down his chest.

"Keep doing that, and it won't take too long until I'm ready again. Three years… Maker I'm an idiot for denying you."

"Yes you are. But I don't want to banter with you right now."

V***V

Hawke gently bit Anders's ear, preventing him from drifting off. Again. "We have things to do today, Hawke. I need to sleep." He mumbled at her, not even opening his eyes this time.

"I know, but you don't need to steal my pillows to do it." She yanked a pillow out from under his head and put it on his chest before snuggling face down into it. He put a hand on her back, still slick with sweat from their exertions and opened his eyes, looking into her deep blue ones. "Come now, Anders, we need to sleep. Surely you can admit to that." The sunrise's light shone through her windows, lighting the room better than the fire's embers.

A short while later, Varric walked into the room, seeing both Hawke and Anders indecently naked, chuckled, apologized, and said he'd wait outside.

"Do we continue? Or do we see what he has to say?" Hawke looked down at Anders, her hair falling onto both of them and obscuring her expression. Anders shrugged eloquently and kissed her, biting on her lower lip as they started to continue.

After they finished, they dressed quickly, Hawke lazily in a tunic and leggings, and Anders without his ever-present jacket.

"A new chapter to your story, Hawke." He said chuckling.

"I'm not going to hide our relationship, but I don't think the entirety of Kirkwall needs to know that I have birthmark on my ass, Varric." Hawke said while taking a chair across from him, gesturing for Anders to do the same.

"Or bite marks, I get it, Hawke." He said with a laugh. "I am sorry that I didn't knock, for what that's worth."

Hawke shrugged, just another memory to repress for the both of them. "You wanted to talk?"

Varric explained to them that he had found Bartrand. They would have to act soon, but he'd like to wait until nightfall. "We'll get him, Varric. Don't doubt that."

"Well, I'll be at the Hanged Man, when you want to leave, come get me." He said before inclining his head slightly and taking his leave.

Hawke stood and looked out the window. One moment of greed had caused her to lose so much. Carver was alive, but she hadn't had enough time to fix their relationship. He never wrote to her, and she had no idea how she would track him down to communicate with him. At least he was alive, but he was still lost to her. If they didn't have to take a winding way out- fight that Ogre, fight one less Darkspawn, even. She could still have her baby brother. They all had the same black hair, and she hated how much she saw him and Bethany in her reflection now.

Anders came up and wrapped his arms around her gently, kissing her cheek. "You need a bath, Anders." She chuckled out. "Very badly. You smell like sex and sweat."

"You don't smell too much better." He loosened his hold as she turned around to face him.

"Lies and slander. I smell like a lady."

"A lady that was just fu-"

Anders cut himself off when he heard the library's door open again. Leandra walked in, and seemed shocked by the presence of the couple. Hawke blushed and jumped away from Anders. "Mother, this is Anders. You met once years ago."

"Yes, I recall." Leandra wasn't stupid; she put the pieces together quickly and blushed slightly. "I thought I heard voices, I figured Bodhan and Sandal were talking to each other." The silence that followed was overwhelming and awkward. "I didn't realize you two were… together."

"It's kind of a long story." Hawke said as she grabbed Anders hand before holding it gently, rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand. "I'd like you to hear it, but… I mean…" They had to do things today, and now with Varric's information, tonight.

"I'm sorry, I have to get back to my clinic and we promised a friend aid with something tonight. Perhaps sometimes soon we can all sit down and talk." Anders interrupted, trying to save Hawke from her stuttering. He knew he would have to explain his… situation to her mother at some point. Hawke had told him once that her mother didn't know a lot of what she did- they both preferred it that way. Leandra had met Varric and Aveline, but she rarely if ever saw anybody else. And she would have to know about Justice.

"I would like that, Anders." Leandra inclined her head slightly and Hawke led Anders out of the library and back up to her room to get ready for the day.

V***V

This was going to be awkward. Not only did Hawke have to introduce Anders to her Mother and say that he was going to move in and that she was in love with him in one sitting. But Hawke would also have to explain about Justice and his clinic, and more about the mage's struggle. Hawke and Leandra were never that close, and her mother didn't know anything about Hawke's involvement with The Circle and Templars. Not since Carver stopped travelling with her.

They were going to all sit together and she was going to explain everything to her mother. Of course, Leandra had noticed that Anders spent his nights here, so that part shouldn't be too bad. Currently, Hawke and her mother were sitting in the library, waiting for Anders to show up. "I do love him." Hawke said randomly, the sentence echoing in her head until her mother responded.

"I figured that much. You spend a lot of time with him."

"This isn't just about that, though. I could do that on my own. He's a mage, I'm not sure if you knew that. A healer. He's very skilled and he's a kind man."

"I understand. Carver spoke of how you two were always bantering and you always brought him along. I know about that. If he's good enough to win my girl's heart, that's enough for me. I'm honored to be formally meeting him."

"Well, keep that in mind when he gets here, which should be any minute." Hawke said before sipping at her wine. She would like to be able to finish this glass. The conversation would be easier, but her throat was closed.

When Anders did walk into the room, Leandra noticed how much her daughter relaxed. A true and relaxed smiled replaced the stressed one she had been forcing. They murmured for a minute before they sat on the loveseat. "Anders… is going to tell you a story, it may seem irrelevant, but I think you need to hear it before we tell you anything else." Hawke said while looking at her feet, her hand gently squeezing Anders's.

He told her, gore aside, of how he was a Grey Warden. About how he met Justice, and left… with Justice. "I came here to help some mages that I knew here as well as because there are no Wardens here in the city. I set up a clinic in Darktown. Mainly for refugees, but there are no healers here- It had to be done. That's where we are a lot. Your daughter is very skilled at potion making. And she has supplied my shop more than a few times over the years."

The silence was deafening. Leandra finally looked up to her daughter. "You trust that he can control this… spirit of Justice?"

"Yes. And if he can't… if he loses control, I'll be there to help. He is no danger unless you attack him."

Leandra nodded.

"There is… one more thing. You may already know." Hawke began. "We… can't tell you everything, but we are involved with the Circle and the Templars. We are trying to end the tyranny that they hold over the mages."

"I don't want to see you hurt. Just promise me that you'll be careful. Both of you."

Hawke bit her lip for a second. "We won't be captured or killed, if that's what you're worried of, Mother. I promise."

**V***V**

**The first three chapters are just ideas that kept getting stuck in my head. I'll use this story for any future female mage Hawke x Anders one shot/drabble prompts or ideas that I have.**


	2. Chapter 2

Hawke and Isabela were sitting in her room. It had been the pirate that first made the joke of her being pregnant. After the fight with the Qunari, Hawke hadn't been perfectly healthy for more than a day or two at a time. At first it was obviously injuries. But then her sleep lengthened and still wasn't enough. Her head and stomach usually hurt, and her appetite jumped. That was over a month ago.

"How has he not found out yet?"

"I told him I have a cold." Hawke said as she wrapped her quilt tighter around herself.

"And he didn't try to heal you?"

"I told him that the smell of lyrium made it worse, that I had already tried and took potions. He knows something is up, but if he's guessed what he hasn't said anything."

"Hawke…" Isabela began, pushing some of the mage's hair back and away from her face. "You have to tell him, sweet thing."

"Justice already hates me. Or rather hates that we're together, he hasn't shared much of his opinion of me personally. A baby would distract him further and Justice would hate it."

"Nonsense, he already spends so much time with you. You'll both need to stay put for a while, but you'll be fine. Justice will be fine. You've calmed him before, you can do it again."

"I don't doubt he'll be happy… eventually. But his immediate reaction is the part I'm worried for."

"Do you want me to stay?" Isabela offered.

"Yes." She said quietly. "Would you mind doing my hair for me? It'll calm me down."

The pirate laughed behind her and grabbed a comb from the bedside. "Fine, but tell me a dirty story and promise not to tell any of my future crew that I am a girl."

"I'm not telling you a dirty story. You already know more than he'd like. And if you've the memory, you already know what he looks like naked."

"Spoilsport," Isabela teased and began getting the knots out of her friend's hair.

V***V

Anders walked in, and was immediately confronted by laughter. He sighed. Isabela was over again, then. When he walked into the room, Hawke immediately stopped laughing, and Isabela stopped sharing her story. "Were you both laughing at my expense or something?"

"No, we would never." Isabela smiled and gently put a hand on Hawke's shoulder for a second.

"Hey." Hawke managed to smile at him finally, and pursed her lips, beckoning the mage to come and kiss her. It was only a peck, lest Isabela want to get involved. "Umm, we need to talk."

"About what?" Anders sat in front of her on the bed, one hand gently on her knee. He figured that Isabela finally found a ship she wanted or something like that.

"I'm not completely sure… I'm not the best healer, and it's hard to do it on yourself… but I think I am… pregnant." She admitted and his easy grin fell.

"That's not funny."

"I know. And I know you said that Grey Wardens can't have children, but you were wrong. Or just particularly virile, I'm not ruling out any possibilities." She chuckled nervously. "But it is yours. If I'm even pregnant."

"Lay back." He instructed her and put a hand on her belly. He pressed his hand gently against her belly and it glowed blue. A small smile crept onto his face after a few moments. "You're pregnant. We're going to be parents." A big smile escaped and Hawke wondered how she ever thought he would be anything but happy. "Do you want to feel the heartbeat?" He offered and took her hand when she nodded.

"Wow." Anders pressed their hands against her stomach, and she could feel a steady beat. "Here," Hawke grabbed Isabela's hand and placed it where her own was. "Do you feel it?"

Isabela cracked a huge smile and was a little sad when Anders pulled his own hand off to hug Hawke. "I knew I was right." She said while getting up. "I'll be going now, don't worry, I'll let you tell everybody."

Hawke hardly even cared that Isabela was leaving. She hugged Anders tightly and only pulled away slightly when needed to kiss him. Anders was ecstatic, and Justice wasn't too angry. Anders gently pushed Hawke back into a lying position, the kiss growing more impatient.

V***V

"I don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl." Hawke said her hand on her now swollen belly. "I know you _could_ find out, but I really don't want you to. I think we should wait until it's born."

"You're only making it harder to pick names, you know. Five minutes, I can narrow our choices by half." Hawke gave a flat look to Anders, who eventually just sighed. "Fine. We'll have it be a surprise. How do we pick names?"

"Mum… Let's start with the girl names." Hawke rubbed her belly carefully, she was due in a few weeks and they had been putting this off. "Isabela." She said as a joke.

"No." He said with a chuckle. "That'd be bad luck."

"Dalia." Hawke offered, playing with Anders's hair.

"You would name our daughter after a flower?"

"Dalia Beth has a nice ring to it." She said with a sad smile. She missed Bethany every day, and she wanted to be able to honor her.

"Do you want to name her Bethany? I would understand. I don't have any family to name her after."

"Thank you… but no. Dalia Beth is better. That way she'd remind me. It's just… Bethany was too distinctive and vibrant. No child of mine would be able to honor her properly." Hawke trailed off. "But that doesn't matter, because it's probably going to be a boy. Let's move on, unless you're not okay with Dalia Beth?"

"It's fine." He kissed her stomach.

"Okay. Boy names." Hawke trailed off… "I'm hungry. Can we go eat something?"

"That's a long name. You're the one who said that we have to do this today, Hawke."

"Good, we agree I'm in charge. Let's go get some food. Maybe we can stop by The Hanged Man; Varric can probably help us out if we're still stuck."

Two hours later, they were still stuck. "Aaron?" Hawke offered as they slowly made their way to The Hanged Man.

"It sounds too much like Araini."

"You just had to make that connection and ruin it for me." Hawke rolled her eyes.

"Would you rather me think of Lyna and Zevran every time I see him?"

"Yes, because I wouldn't be. And I'd be happy with it. Suggest a name. Right now. It's your turn, you ass."

"Carl," Anders said the name of his friend before he even realized he was thinking about him.

"Okay. I… like that. Naming him after somebody who was sacrificed because of the Templars."

Anders felt a flash of anger and forced himself to calm down. This was no time for Justice to come out. "Alright. So Carl. Does he need a second name?"

"I don't know. Yeah. Let's try and pick one." She rested her hand on her belly. "Varric can probably help us, we're almost there, anyway. I'm not turning around yet."

When they did reach the Hanged Man, Varric looked up from his game of cards he had been playing in the main area. "Hawke, good to see you! You haven't been associating with us lowlifes now that you're a mother!"

"I'm not a mother, yet. I'm just somebody with a big stomach and even bigger appetite." Hawke smiled at her belly. "We're trying to pick out names, do you feel like helping?"

V***V

They were both afraid of this happening. There was a plague going through the Undercity and Anders absolutely had to leave her today. She was way too pregnant to make that walk, so she stayed home, even though she was about to pop at any moment. When her water broke, she had been sitting in bed, reading a book. This was the worst possible time for this to happen, so was home alone and there was no way she would make it anywhere near Darktown, even if she went through the cellars.

Hawke got up and somehow made it down the stairs and out her front door, looking for the guard stationed around the corner of her house. "Donnic." She shouted out, thanking everything she could that it was Aveline's beau instead of one of the other countless guards whose names she didn't know.

"Are you…?" He walked over to her as he trailed off, getting what was happening from her pained expression and her grabbing at her big belly.

"Please get Aveline for me. Tell her Anders is out and my baby is coming. I'll be in my room, she know where it is."

"Right away, messere." He bent slightly and then ran towards the Viscount's Keep.

Hawke shambled back into her house and started to climb the stairs. Any other day would've been better. Another day and Bodhan and Sandal would be home, any other week at Anders wouldn't have left her while she was this pregnant. Less than five minutes later, Aveline was behind her, helping her up the stairs. "Goodness, Hawke. This baby needs more attention than you."

"I know, Aveline." Finally they got to her bedroom and Hawke lay down on her side, avoiding the wet spot. "Would you be willing to get Anders for me? The cellars of this house run through to Darktown. It shouldn't take more than thirty minutes."

"That would be leaving you alone for an hour, Hawke." Aveline warned. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I'm not going to have his baby without him." Hawke screamed through the pain before taking deep breadths and calming down. "I'm sorry, just… please."

Aveline sighed. "I'll go in a moment. Let me help you get comfortable." She helped Hawke prop herself up and took the blankets and sheets off the bed, tossing them in a corner. "Do you need anything else before I go?" She asked, placing a fresh blanket by Hawke.

"No. I'm fine." Hawke picked her book up again. "It'll be fine. Just… try and hurry." She grabbed at her stomach, the pain mainly gone since the contraction ended. Aveline tossed a final smile towards Hawke before leaving.

At the clinic, Anders was swamped. There were a lot people all vying for his attention and saying their case was more important than the others. He had tied a bandanna around his face and was only taking children at the moment. The people were sick with vomit and fever, something that could be fatal to a child, but adults can live through with a hellish week. He was rushing, casting spells quickly and taking lyrium potions when he was exhausted. He would be sick later, indefinitely. But he hated the idea of leaving Hawke alone. She pushed him out the door, promising that she would be fine. Luckily, Aveline agreed to post a friend by their house in case she did go into labor. He had just finished healing the last of the children when he saw the guardswoman.

"Shit." He swore while looking at the people he had to still heal. "She's in labor, isn't she?"

"Yes." Aveline pulled her own bandanna around her face, seeing that his assistants had done the same thing. "I told her I would come and get you. I don't know how soon the baby's coming, but it is coming. Her water broke."

"I'll be there. You go on ahead; I won't be five minutes behind." He said determinedly. He took the next few minutes to give detailed instructions to his assistants and to say that he'll be back, at least for a short time, tomorrow to help anybody truly desperate. He ran after Aveline, but didn't catch up to her until they were both back in the estate.

He walked into his and Hawke's shared bedroom, and saw his love sweaty and writhing on the bed. "Love, I was working with sick people, I won't be five minutes, but I need to change." He said as he passed through their room and into the bathroom. He stood over the drain and poured water that he heated up too much over him after stripping down.

"Anders!" Hawke shouted out to him. "Next time you're doing this!" She shouted as he poked his head out of the bathroom, he had put on soft pants and tied his hair back better.

"Not that I would defy you, love, but I don't think that's possible." He sat beside her and kissed her forehead. "When did your water break?"

"Less than an hour before Aveline got you." She said with a sigh, the pain ebbing.

"How far apart are you contractions, love?"

"Ten minutes. They're getting longer and more frequent." She said while playing with his ponytail, it really did to be cut.

"Well, you're going to have to wait a bit, love. Maybe another couple of hours."

"I hate you." She said softly with a smile on her face. "Why do I have to wait on this kid? I'm ready for it to be born."

"I have something that will help with the pain."

"You're my hero. I take back anything I've ever said to the contrary."

"I'll go mix it." He said before another kiss and going to mix the potion and salve.

"Aveline, are you going to stay?" Hawke asked with lidded eyes. She was already feeling tired and hungry.

"You told me you wanted me to be the godmother. If you think I'm going to miss the birth of my godchild, you're insane. Even if you kick me out, I'll likely just wait around outside."

"I don't deserve a friend like you, Aveline. You're too good to me."

Hours later, it was over. The house was filled with loud cries from the baby, and laughter from Hawke that it was finally over. Anders made the foolish mistake of handing the gooey child to Varric, who somehow knew that she was going into labor. The usually charming and suave dwarf had melted as soon as he saw her, making cooing noises at the baby and hovering around Anders when he said he needed to clean the baby.

"Is it Dalia or Carl?" Hawke asked, exhausted. She was lazily lying on the bed, her limbs flopped and her legs still dangling over the bed, if not propped up anymore.

"Dalia Beth." Anders cooed into the blanket wrapped baby in his arms. Hawke sat up and scooted back to the headboard, propped against pillows and dragging the blanket up to cover herself. "She's gorgeous."

"Let me hold her." Hawke held her arms up, expecting her child.

"You've been holding her for the past nine months, Hawke. It's my turn." Anders kissed the baby in his arms and cuddled into her.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Blondie."

Anders chuckled as he sat down next to Hawke and handed over their child. Hawke saw a squishy little thing, with blue eyes and black hair look up at her. "She looks so squishy."

"I'm not a doctor or healer, Hawke, but I think that that's normal." Aveline gently ran a finger down her face. "She is very small." She added matter-of-factly

"Aren't the women supposed to be cooing over her?" Anders joked.

"We were, Blondie." Varric bantered and everybody laughed.

Anders grabbed one of Hawke's hands and let his daughter grab one of his fingers with the other. For once, he and Justice were complete and total agreement. This little girl needed to be protected by him. Hawke noticed that the hold of his hand tightened and his eyes shined blue for a moment. "You guys take her for a moment and wait outside. Anders and I need to talk." She handed the baby up to Aveline who took her and began to head outside, ignoring Varric, who asked for the baby.

"What's wrong, Anders? Is it Justice? Is he angry?" Hawke put a hand on his face and leaned in slightly.

"No. He and I… We… I would do anything to protect that girl. She is going to be so spoiled, I can tell."

Hawke laughed slightly. "I've known that for nine months." She kissed him quickly. "While we're baby-less for the moment, help me get a quick rinse and a shower."

"You're so romantic."

"Do you want another sandwich?"


	3. Chapter 3

When Hawke watched the Chantry blow up, she immediately knew that she had helped Anders do it. Everything slid into place, but her first thought was of their daughter. Their sweet, daughter. She was just learning how to speak in full sentences. Dalia was always tumbling around the house and trying to jump. She had Hawke's black, curly hair, and Anders eyes. Her other features were still too young to tell, but she saw a lot of herself in their daughter. Except for her sweet and giving nature. She was like her father in that sense. She was very stubborn, something that both of them swore she got from the other.

Absolutely everybody was enraptured by her. Fenris smiled near her and gave her sweets often, regardless of what her parent's said. Aveline and Donnic had agreed to watch her on some nights when business had to take Hawke and Anders away, always giving her a long hug when time for goodbyes came. Varric came over once a week, usually with Merrill, to tell her stories. Isabela brought her toys and had tried to teach her card games before. Even Gamlen was nice and affectionate to the sweet child.

But it was a big explosion. They didn't live too far away from the Chantry. Hawke managed to fight the nearest Templars with no issue and then just stood before Anders, listening to his reasoning. "If she is dead, you are too." She said with the slightest trace of a crack in her voice. "For now… come with us. I'm not promising anything after that. Just… don't speak to me." She cut him off and resisted the urge to slap the shit out of him.

Hawke doesn't remember much of the fight. She just knows that as soon as Meredith laid dead on the floor of the Gallows, Hawke bolted out and to her home, looking for any trace of her Dalia Beth. She knew that Anders was following her, and she knew that she had at least one broken rib and she needed healing, but she couldn't. Not yet.

She made it to her house in fair time, seeing the front of it blown off, crumbling, and scorched, but the rest of it standing. "Dalia!" She shouted out. Hawke knew that Bodhan wouldn't stick around in the crumbling mess of the house, but she had to try. She ran around the entire city for two days until she found her child.

"Mommy!" Dalia shouted and ran to her. Hawke picked her up and held her tightly, allowing a few tears of happiness to escape her. "I love you." Dalia said to her, and Hawke sat down on the stoned-lined ground.

"Sweetie, I'm so glad you're safe." She held her tightly. "We'll be fine, now." Hawke said, not sure if she was convincing herself or her daughter. "I will never leave you like that again. Where's Bodhan and Sandal?"

The girl shrugged. "That doesn't matter, baby girl. It'll all be okay. I promise."

Later that night, when Dalia was asleep, Hawke let Anders heal her. "You said you would do anything to protect her. That was not protecting her, Anders."

"I'm not proud of what I did." Anders looked down and bit his lower lip.

"Was it Justice? Or was it you?" Hawke couldn't look at him. She stared out the window of their temporary room.

"Justice suggested it. The idea kept nagging at me. I agreed. He never had doubts, though."

"He needs to go. Or you do. I'm not letting him near my child again. I… I thought she was our child, but I can't trust you as long as he's with you. If you can't get rid of him, then you need to leave. You obviously cannot control him anymore."

"If I could… get rid of him, would there be a future for us?"

"I… I want to say yes, Anders, I really do. But I just don't know."

"I knew I would break your heart." He looked down at his clasped hands, sitting atop a crate.

"Bullshit. You were afraid of it. That fear made you vulnerable. I… I could almost agree with you blowing up the chantry, but not the decision to put our daughter at risk. You could have said something when we left that morning and we could have locked her in your clinic with one of your assistants. You didn't think any part of this through. You didn't do anything correctly about this, Anders. You almost got the mages killed. And now people are going to think of mages as radical and desperate. Long term, Anders? You didn't help mages. If you can't see that… then I don't know what you are. You need to choose between us and him. That's all I can say."

"I still love you. I don't know where I'm even going to begin trying to get rid of him, But I won't rest until I have found a way or I know it's impossible. Either way, you'll see me again on that day, because I will undoubtedly need your help."

"Go, then." Hawke still hadn't turned around.

"Can I say goodbye to her?"

"No." Hawke shook her head. "Just go."

V***V

Two and a half years later, Hawke and Dalia were playing in their gardens, Hawke showing her daughter how to do a cartwheel. Anders thought it was almost too sweet a scene to interrupt, but he couldn't wait. Both of their hair had gotten longer. Hawke had a scarf tied into it to keep it off her face, but otherwise let the curls fall to her mid-back, whereas Dalia wore hers in pigtails. Dalia saw him walking towards them first, and ran up to him, shouting out Daddy. Anders smiled down at the girl, surprised that she remembered him. Hawke waited in the gardens, her expression somewhere between heartbroken and relieved.

"Dalia, sweetie." She called out after a minute. "Come back. You need to go inside." Dalia sighed dramatically that under any other circumstance would have made Hawke crack a smile. "Sweetie, you can talk to Daddy later. Go check on your brother, okay?" She whispered to her when she got close enough.

Anders, unfortunately, was also close enough to hear. When Dalia was in the house, he frowned slightly. "You… moved on?"

"No. I'm sorry; I didn't want to tell you like this." She looked down at the ground. "Why are you here?" She looked back up at him with her big blue eyes. He just wanted to kiss those red lips of hers, but he didn't think she would take too kindly to that. "Did you rid yourself of Justice?"

"No. He hasn't… controlled me since the thing with the Chantry. I have found a way to get him out of me. But I would need a mage to cast the ritual and we would need lyrium. I promised I would come back to you… And here I am."

"I keep lyrium in the basement. I'll take the kids over to Aveline's, you can prepare it. Assuming it isn't a bomb this time." She said with a crack of a smile and handed him a key. Hawke went inside and immediately got her kids, picking up their emergency bags she always kept packed and left, telling them she was sorry, but they just had to listen to her right now. When she came back, Anders had some lyrium melted as well as various other things spread about on the table.

"So how does this work, Anders? Are we… summoning him?" She recognized some of the ingredients laid out.

"In a sense. I have the ingredients for a spell that will send us both into the Fade. We will have to fight him. If I fall, you will be sent back out immediately, and I will become Tranquil."

"What do I need to do?" She offered immediately. She still kept her figure, she was dressed in leggings and a tight, thin linen shirt. It was maddening to him to be so close to being able to see her form. Her skin looked healthy, her hair shiny, and in general she was well groomed.

"Being a mother suits you."

"Being a father would have suited you." She countered. "Now tell me what I need to do."

"Read the red parts." He handed her a sheet full of Arcanium. "I will read the black parts at the same time."

They began and Anders dipped his fingers into the melted lyrium, tracing a pattern over her face before mirroring it into his own. After the last words had been said, he grabbed her and kissed her, and when they stopped, they were in The Fade.

They sought out the spirit of vengeance that Justice had become and killed him without incident. When they woke up, it only seemed an hour or two later. "So how do you feel?"

"I feel good. My thoughts are my own."

"That's good." Hawke didn't know how to express the rush of emotions that happened next. She was happy, the man she was in love with had returned. Sad that it took so long, excited for the future. But most of all she was relieved. She was relieved that nothing like the incident with the Chantry would never happen again, that she wouldn't have to go another two years without him. Later, she would worry about the kind of person it made her that she could just forgive him, but at that second, she didn't have any room for grief.

**V***V**

**End of this plot line.**


End file.
